Be sure to include your name, daytime phone number, address, name and phone number of legal next-of-kin, method of payment, and the name of the funeral home/crematory to contact for verification of death.

As expected, the Chiefs franchise-tagged star outside linebacker Justin Houston on Monday and a league source told The Star it was a nonexclusive tag, which allows Houston to receive offers from other teams. He is not expected to sign the franchise tender at the moment, though it is unclear when he will decide whether to sign.

A year ago, the Chiefs could have saved themselves a lot of time, trouble and money by signing linebacker Justin Houston to a long-term contract. Had they done so, they’d today have more cap space, longer control over a premier pass rusher and more flexibility to fill other needs on their roster.

Beginning Saturday, NFL teams will be allowed to communicate with the representatives of free agents, and Clark Hunt, the chairman of the Chiefs, wants to be abreast of whatever plan his football men chart. “We want to sign guys that can be here and make a contribution, not necessarily (sign) somebody just because he makes a splash,” Hunt says.

Center Rodney Hudson is coming off his best professional season and is poised to command a deal north of at least $6 million a season once the free-agency period begins March 10. One Chiefs player who might be wise to keep an eye on how things develop with Hudson is backup center Eric Kush.

The Chiefs struggled at left guard all last season, but that does not necessarily mean they will invest a ton of resources in upgrading the position this offseason. Projected starter Jeff Allen, who missed 15 games last season with an elbow injury, should be healthy and ready to play, and the Chiefs also invested a sixth-round pick in guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, an athletic, 6-foot-4, 321-pounder from McGill University in Canada.

Clark Hunt, the chairman of the Chiefs, remains hopeful that Kansas City’s decision to surrender its home-field advantage against the Detroit Lions on Nov. 1 to instead play in the game London will take care of an obligation under NFL rules that a team that plays host to a Super Bowl also host an overseas game.

The free agency period is only a week away, so The Star’s Terez A. Paylor is diving into your questions with quick-hitting mailbags. This one will revolve solely around the Chiefs’ star outside linebacker Justin Houston, who is set to become a free agent.

Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch was in Turkey with an American Football Without Barries camp along with two other NFL players and the trio did a TV interview. Naturally, the subject of the end of Super Bowl XLIX came up.

The free agency period is only a week away, so The Star’s Terez A. Paylor is diving into your questions with quick-hitting mailbags. This one will revolve solely around the Chiefs’ star outside linebacker Justin Houston, who is set to become a free agent.

Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch was in Turkey with an American Football Without Barries camp along with two other NFL players and the trio did a TV interview. Naturally, the subject of the end of Super Bowl XLIX came up.

Gary Green, the Chiefs’ first-round draft pick in 1977 and a Pro Bowl selection at cornerback during his final three seasons with the Chiefs, was introduced as the 45th member of the club’s Hall of Fame on Saturday night before the annual 101 Dinner at the Westin Crown Center.

“I’m just doing whatever I can to help the team.” The 22-year-old running back said it enough that you couldn’t help but believe it, and at the annual 101 Awards on Saturday, he officially received confirmation that he certainly accomplished that goal, as he was named the winner of the Mack Lee Hill Award as the Chiefs’ rookie of the year.

Former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue, who received the Lamar Hunt Award for Professional Football on Saturday night at the 101 Awards Banquet, has a special memory of a game at Arrowhead Stadium: the first Sunday of football after the attacks on the World Trade Center.

Iowa offensive lineman Brandon Scherff has always been a bit of a freak athlete. As a high school sophomore, he played quarterback. At 290 pounds. Now 23, Scherff is widely considered to be one of the top linemen in the NFL Draft.